Luck of Seven
by SugarRed
Summary: The world is in danger and desperately needs a group of heros to protect them. Bruce Wayne thinks he's found all of them until a seventh shows up. She's wicked smart and mischievous with a thick southern accent, who can swing a bo like nobody's business. Her name is Charlotte Dubois or Ruse as the press likes to call her. And she is the seventh member of the Justice League.
1. Author's Note

Hey guys! I am so so so sorry for not updating in a reaaaaaaally long time! I've been so busy with all my AP classes and getting all my college things together, which I'm attending UofA so woo pig!!! But anyways I re-read my chapters here and none of my facts or info about Charlotte are very consistent and is kind of all over the place so I am determined to try and re-edit it. I want to give you guys the best I can deliver because you guys deserve the best. But until I can do that, I won't be updating for a bit longer. I'm so sorry guys but I appreciate all of you so much!!!


	2. Prologue

**Luck Of Seven: Prologue**

 _The camera feed is blurry and pixellated as it overlooks a dark alley just off the French Quarter in New Orléans. It's black and white with nothing really to show except for some stray trash blowing around and a group of men standing and talking by the chain link fence._

 _That soon changes however when a back door from a pub slams open and a short curvy woman stumbles from it. The feed makes her face fuzzy and barely able to show the details of her clothes. One thing stick out however is her walking cane clutched in her hands as she leans against the wall breathing heavily._

 _The men at the end take notice of her and start calling out things while slowly making their way over. She doesn't do anything but ignore them until one gets angry and pulls a knife shaking his fist at her._

 _The woman's head raises, her eyes glowing extremely bright on the black and white footage. She twirls her walking cane three times causing it to extend a little taller than her before she slams the now staff down hard._

 _The feed then goes dark with a bright flash right before it happens. Seconds later, it comes back on with all the men crumpled to the ground and the woman swinging her cane lazily as she walks down the alley._

Intrigued, Bruce leans back examining all the meta-human profiles pulled up on his computers. Diana a woman whose been alive since the World Wars with no change in age, who also has extreme powers and goes by the name Wonder Woman. An athlete who was in a terrible accident, turned into a science experiment by the name of Victor Stone or Cyborg. Another kid, Barry, who possesses lightning speed and claims the superhero name Flash. Arthur Curry, seemingly human but with aquatic abilities and takes the name Aquaman. Lastly the newest recruit Bruce found; Charlotte Dubois. A meta-human hustler in New Orléans who posses unknown but strong powers, who goes by the name Ruse.

Glancing over all the files one more time and re-watching Ruse's footage, Bruce calls out to Alfred, "Prepare the jet, we're heading South."

~~~

Edited.

Thank you so much to all of those who have followed or favorited this story!!! You guys and my lovely reviewers (who I need to make an appreciation list for!) are the only reason I am still continuing this story. Life has just been busy and has finally caught up to me but I'm trying to shove that jealous bitch to the side so I can focus on all of you lol. As I have said in my author note, I will be re-writing/re-editing so the updates will probably be sporatic but I am not giving up on her yet!!! So once again thank you all and I hope you enjoy the new version so much more!

Peace out lovelies!

-SugarRed


	3. Chapter One

**Luck of Seven: Chapter One**

 _"Life is like a poker game...It's not what your given it's how you use it."_

 _-Unknown_

~~~

The heavy scent of cherry tobacco lingers in the air mixed with loud thumping jazz music and bubbly champagne. The club is dark with several fine dressed men gathered at felt poker tables and fancy women parading around the room on their mens arms.

One woman stands out among all of them there. Her wavy brown hair is cut just above her shoulders with a dark purple Fedora cocked jauntily on her head. She's wearing a simple white shirt with a dark purple waistcoat over the top and a brown leather trench coat that hits just above her knees. A walking cane with a small glass orb on top, rests beside her. She's leaned back lazily on her chair as she shuffles the deck, splits it, and deals to the group of men at her table. She's easily winning with more chips than anyone at the table and even some cash from those who still want to play even though they are digging their grave more and more.

Her name is Charlotte Dubois.

"Alrigh' _mes amies_ , dis is my last play for da night." Charlotte states as she lazily knuckle rolls one of her chips before tossing it into the growing pile of bets.

Two of the men at the table decide to fold and keep what money they still can. It's a known fact that when it's Charlotte Dubois's last round, she cleans everybody out. One of the men, a small young guy looks at his cards for a few seconds before throwing in more money to the pot.

Charlotte raises an eyebrow but meets his bet as well as the only other man still in the game. The inexperienced whale grins lightly as he places his cards down calling out, "Flush of spades baby!"

The other man rolls his eyes placing his cards down and looks over at the kid pointedly, "Four of a kind punk. You really need to learn when to step down kid."

The kid glares at the older man before his attention is stolen by Charlotte as she chuckles softly. She shakes her head laying her cards out and tsks at both men, "Honestly Jimmie, ye 'ave _non_ chance either so donna give da kid so hard a time _oui_?"

Both men scowl as they see her Royal Flush of hearts and the large amount of money she just won. Jimmie storms away from the table, making Charlotte's grin grow as she collects all of her money. The kid whistles low looking at her in a new light as he says, "You really are a shark like they claim."

Charlotte smiles brightly sending him a wink at she stands and says, "Charlotte is _non_ a shark _jeune_ , just a woman paying da bills."

The kid grins as she flicks him a chip before leaving the table with her cane and her money. Charlotte easily moves through the crowd and to the cashiers booth to check in her chips for real cash. Grabbing a drink on the way out, Charlotte leisurely walk down the still busy Bourbon Street and towards her apartment.

The night air is a cool caress against her always warm skin and the faded stars fighting against the bright lights of New Orléans. Soft jazz music floats down the street combining with the spice of Cajun boiled peanuts and plenty of alcohol. Navigating the streets, Charlotte finally reaches her small faded teal apartment with dusty glass windows and iron bars. Inserting her key, she swings the door open embracing the feeling of being home.

Only it feels different. Off. Carefully she closes the door setting her keys on the dresser beside the door. Feeling the always tug of war in her stomach, she embraces it, swinging her cane and letting her power flow. Charlotte hesitantly checks throughout the house for whatever had been disturbed. The pot of gumbo is still simmering as when she left it in the kitchen and the radio is still on, lightly playing _'Baby I'm Broken.'_

As soon as she steps in the living room, she knows what it is. A man is sitting in her arm-chair in the dark. Snarling, Charlotte flicks the lights on and points her staff at the man exclaiming, "Who da fuck ya think ye are!? Git on outta ma house!"

The man uncrosses his legs slowly and leans forwards slightly. His hair is a dark brown that's slightly unkempt and a shadow of a beard on his chin. He's dressed in a sharp suit and wears a smirk that screams "Billionaire Bitch".

"You are Ms. Dubois I presume?"

Charlotte scowls and says heatedly, "Look 'ere _monsieur_ , yah got five seconds tah git outta ma house."

Bruce ignores the threat as he stands and holds his hand out saying, "My name is Bruce Wayne."

Charlotte doesn't even glance at his hand as she states firmly, "Five."

Bruce smiles amused and retracts his hand. He opens his mouth to begin telling her why he's here but Charlotte keeps counting, reaching one before he can speak.

Immediately, Bruce feels the air charge as Charlotte's eyes meet his for the first time. They go from green to a purple in seconds, like lighting a fire. Her fingertips crackle with purple energy that travel to her staff.

She lunges swinging her staff hard at his head. Bruce ducks the swing and kicks out at her knee. She spins to the side avoiding it and twirls her staff with her, using every opportunity to aim for him. Just as Charlotte swings down towards his head, Bruce crosses his arms to deflect the hit. As soon as contact is met, all the kinetic energy Charlotte had built, explodes sending Bruce flying barely conscious and Charlotte away from him losing her grip on her staff.

Dazed Bruce lays there for a few moments trying to shake the ringing from his ears. Slowly his hearing comes back and the pain does as well. He groans rolling over and slowly crawls to his feet.

Charlotte has already regained her footing and is staring at something in her hands. It's one of Bruce's batarangs that had come flying from his coat pocket during the explosion. She flips it over in her hands before asking, "Who is yah really?"

Bruce looks confused and picks at his ear before shouting, "What?"

Charlotte rolls her eyes but marches closer to him and asks, "Why does yah 'ave dis _monsieur_?"

Bruce notices the batarang in her hand and sighs softly. He rubs a hand over his face wearily before saying, "I came here to talk to you because I found a file of yours. It was property of Lex Luthor that I managed to acquire. It showed video surveillance of a woman in New Orléans who fought a group of men with extraordinary speed and something _else_."

Bruce pauses fiddling with his hands before raising his head and meeting Charlotte's now green eyes. He continues serious, "The world has recently lost a great man who was our only real protection. I'm gathering a team of people like you who can help protect the world now that Superman is gone."

Stunned Charlotte sits back and glances out the destroyed window of her balcony before asking quietly, "Why now? Who are yah in all dis?"

Bruce stands slowly and says, "There is something coming, something we need to be ready for and I'm the only one willing to take it on."

Charlotte ponders over his words, trying to make a decision. She's always been outcast for her powers, either having to hide them or only being able to use them during gambling. She's never really done anything and living a life of hustling forever is not all that appealing.

With her decision made, Charlotte smiles holding her hand out and says, "Ye are _non_ da only one _mon amie_. I will join ya and yer koo koo kachoo idea."

Bruce smiles relieved and shakes my hand stating, "Thank you Ms. Dubois."

Charlotte turns away from him heading to the kitchen and calls out, "If we gonna do dis then ya best be callin' me Charlie!"

~~~

"So what is da game plan?" Charlotte asks curiously while she roams Bruce's jet.

It's large and not in the sense of big plane but it's spacious on the inside. There are nice leather couches and seats as well as a big TV. He even has a mini bar area with a fridge that just past it leads to the bedrooms where there are bunk beds. The bathroom is pretty big too, big enough to take a shower in. On the other side of the jet is like a control room. There are computer monitors all over, with several technological devices attached. Bruce has a bulletin board up with tags of things and a whole detective vibe going.

Bruce calls out from the control center, "Come over here Ms. Du-I mean Charlie. It'll be easier to explain."

Charlotte shrugs kicking her shoes off and her coat on the couch before waltzing over to Bruce and Alfred. Alfred is leaned over one of the computers typing while Bruce is messing with the bulletin and theorizing out loud to Alfred.

"It was a siren like from an ambulance but it made it hard for it too focus at all." Bruce says offhandedly while rubbing his chin.

Charlotte leans against the doorway and pipes up curious, "What da hell you talkin' bout Bruce?"

Alfred glances up over his glasses before returning to the computer as Bruce steps back to talk to Charlie. He runs a hand through his hair and motions to the bulletin. There are pictures of these creature like things as well as pictures of me and other people with a symbol beside each one. There's numerous documents and snapshots of places as well as drawings.

Bruce taps his knuckle on the bigger blown up picture of a bug like creature saying, "These are the creatures that have attacked people all over Gotham and other places."

He drags his finger to other documents saying, "This is documents from Lex Luthor's research but I think what he talks about in here, some other worldly demons and the three boxes, are all connected. They appear in his research over and over."

Charlie takes in everything he says, nodding along to each claim before asking, "So what we gon do? What is da next step?"

Bruce glances over to Alfred and back to the bulletin before saying, "Well the next step now is gathering a team. We're heading North to recruit a man by the name of Arthur Curry. We should be there in a few hours then we'll have to travel by foot."

Charlie nods pushing herself up from the wall, "Alrigh' den. Imma catch a few winks befoe we git goin'."

Bruce nods nonchalantly, going back to his work. Charlotte grabs her bag, coat, and staff from the couch before heading back to the bunk beds. There is four of them built into the sides of the walls but they are about the size of a full bed.

Shrugging her things off she throws them on the other side of the bed and crawls in. As soon as her head hits the pillow, Charlotte is out like a light.

 _"Maman, non! Stay back!" Young Charlotte screams, her hands flung up in warning. Purple energy crackles along Charlotte's hands and arms, slowly traveling across her body._

 _Her mother ignores her cries, hesitantly stepping forwards and reaching out for her daughter. Charlotte shies away as far as she can, as the energy travels over her, becoming stronger and brighter._

 _"Lil' Lottie, you need to relax baby. Just breathe okay?" Charlotte's mother whispers gently as she slowly reaches out to touch her. As soon as her mother makes contact, the purple energy flares and explodes traveling to her mother. Screaming, Charlotte stares in disbelief as her mother is flung away from her, twitching once before stilling._

"Charlie, we're here." Bruce gently shakes her awake.

Charlotte springs up from the bed with a gasp, her eyes flitting to Bruce's. He frowns concerned but brushes it off as she gathers her breath and waves offhandedly saying, "Alrigh' den. Lemme git dressed."

Shaking the dream off, Charlie grabs her bag and goes into the bathroom, quickly changing. She grabs her dark wash skinny jeans slipping them on and throwing her dark purple sweater on over a tank top. She grabs some of her warm fuzzy socks from her bag before pulling on her combat boots and leather trench coat.

Throwing the rest of her things on her bunk, Charlie sighs heavily in anticipation of what's to come. Just before she leaves, Charlotte grabs her cane and meets Bruce down the jets stairs into the wide, cold land of Scandinavia.

The home of Arthur Curry.

~~~

Right so this is edited. I am adding more depth and stretching the timeline out, so y'all can have a little more Arthur action. The next chapter will not make sense until I have edited that one as well. Sorry about that! Hope you enjoy! Happy New Years y'all!!!

-SugarRed


	4. Chapter Two

**Luck of Seven: Chapter Two**

 _"The struggle you're in today is developing the strength you need for tomorrow."_

 _-Robert Tew_

~~~

The icy wind rips through the air, cutting through Charlotte's clothes easily. Her brown hair whips about her face as snow clings to it and melts running down her face. She shivers tugging her coat closer to her all while trying to maintain her balance on the horse. They've been traveling for about an hour now and in no time, according to Bruce, they should be at the cliffs where the town will be below.

Sure enough the jutting cliffs appear and the sounds of crashing waves echo through the air. Bruce climbs down from his horse and passes the reins to Charlotte to hold as he checks for the town below. Soon he's waving her forwards to look out beside him.

Charlie dismounts and leads both horses over asking through chattering teeth, "We h-h-here?"

Bruce nods motioning to a small little trail in the side of the mountain they can follow down.

"We'll have to let the horses go. They can't make it down that trail." Bruce grabs his horse and begins taking the backpack off of it strapping it on him before slapping the horses behind to get going.

Charlie does the same thing, only through chattering teeth as she slowly follows Bruce down the mountain trail. As they push on, warm beads of sweat form on Charlie's forehead as she continues to shiver and tremble, stumbling slightly down the trail. Soon when she feels she can't take anymore, the small town appears right before them.

People with lighter skin, than even Bruce, mill about draped in heavy furs and scowls gracing their faces. Bruce walks through stonily, heading towards the nearest building with lots of people spilling in and out of it. Charlie, although freezing, attempts at waving and smiling as she passes through, gaining a lesser scowl than that of Bruce.

Charlie taps Bruce on the shoulder as they near the building and asks quietly, "H-h-how you so s-sure he in d'ere?"

Bruce glances at Charlie a little concerned, tugging his scarf off and wrapping it around her as he says, "I'm not, but where there's a crowd there's a reason."

A little warmer, Charlie just nods as she follows Bruce into the crowded building, pushing themselves to the front. An old man in a chair with a dark beanie on his head, scowls at them as Bruce asks about a man coming to this town.

As Bruce argues, Charlotte's attention is stolen by a bright flash of blue eyes. Her eyes instantly draw to them with their piercing and curious gaze. A tall man with broad shoulders and long wavy brown and blonde hair, stand a little ways from the man in the chair. He's leaning against the wall and watches Charlotte curiously before stepping forwards and saying in response to Bruce, "Icebergs in the harbour. It's been four months since the last ship got through."

His voice is deep and a little rough as if he just got done drinking a bottle of whiskey. He glares down at Bruce and raises a scarred eyebrow in warning. Immediately, Charlie sees the resemblance to the picture on Bruce's wall. She turns slightly to Bruce and murmurs, "That'a him but he ain't gonna listen tah ya."

The man follows Charlie's movement like a cat, his jaw twitching before his stormy gaze lands back on Bruce.

Bruce frowns glancing away from Charlie and decides to test the waters saying, "Well this stranger doesn't come by ship." He pauses letting his words hang before continuing, "There are enemies coming from far away. I need warriors. I'm building a team right now. I'll give you $25,000 to talk to him right now."

Charlie raises an eyebrow at Bruce's tactics but doesn't say anything as Arthur smirks, amused by Bruce's offer. He starts speaking in Scandinavian, making his people laugh as Bruce and Charlie stare confused. Obviously these people adore him and aren't going to give him up.

Feeling colder, to the point of numbness, Charlie coughs lightly and leans over whispering to Bruce, "I-I-I'm gonna go fin' dah drink-k and warm up s-some." Bruce nods in understanding turning his attention back to the large angry fish man.

Charlotte goes to head back outside the way they came but as soon as she takes a step forwards, her body crumples to the ground.

Dazed and shivering Charlotte mumbles, "Oh f-f-fuck."

Her eyes roll into the back of her head as she passes out. Bruce quickly kneels beside her checking her pulse as the laughing ceases and Arthur kneels down beside her too.

"What's wrong with her?" Arthur asks as he examines her. Bruce feels how ice cold her skin is and how her normally tan skin is now pale while her face is flushed with sweat. Her lips are slowly turning blue and she is still shivering even in her unconsciousness.

Bruce swears loudly quickly ripping his coat off and wrapping it around her as he says, "I think her body is going into shock from the cold. She's not accustomed to weather like this."

Arthur frowns but gently shooes Bruce to the side and says, "Grab her things, I will get her the help she needs."

Bruce goes to protest but stops as Arthur gently scoops Charlie into his arms like she weighed nothing. He holds her tightly against his chest causing Charlie to snuggle in deeper to Arthur's arms and sigh.

Arthur quickly strides out of the building, leaving Bruce to quickly snatch Charlie's things and follow after them. The wind cuts through them causing Charlotte to shiver harder as Arthur practically jogs down the street towards the local bar.

"Hey what the hell you taking her to a bar for?!" Bruce yells over the roaring wind and crashing waves.

Arthur ignores him and quickly kicks the door open and shouts in his booming voice, "Get me Sheila now!"

People scurry out of his way and race off in different directions as he takes Charlie to a side room attatched to the bar with a wooden table and bookshelves and cabinets full of herbs. He gently lays her down on the table and removes his thick furry coat placing it on top of her chest like a blanket.

Bruce doesn't have time to question him further as a small petite woman with bright red hair marches into the room. She immediately goes to Charlie, checking over her as she asks, "How long as she been like this?"

Bruce watches the woman carefully and says, "She collapsed not too long ago but we have been riding and hiking for about two hours."

The woman, Sheila, frowns and checks Charlie's pulse before telling Arthur, "Get me the ginger and cayenne from the cupboard."

Arthur quickly does so, grabbing a mortar and pestle as well for her. She snatches them quickly and mashes them in her bowl, clinking away at the small desk.

"Arthur, we're going to have to go to your place- don't argue with me either! She'll need a fire going, get her as close as possible and bundle her up. I will run to my house and get the proper medical equipment. Her body is in shock and is losing heat fast."

Arthur growls under his breath about ' _stupid people'_ and _'better with fish',_ all of which Bruce could barely catch before the small woman is grabbing his arm, tugging him along as she says, "You come with me. I need help loading all of this into the truck."

Bruce hesitates watching as Arthur feeds Charlie the paste Sheila made before hoisting her in his arms again. He only just met this woman but Bruce already feels as though he owes her something just because she already believed in him before the mission started.

Sheila rolls her eyes tugging Bruce further away and huffs, "She'll be fine _Herra_ , stop fretting and hurry along."

Bruce nods along and leaves Charlie in Arthur's hands to follow the spirited woman.

~~~

The first thing Charlie sensed when she awoke was the overwhelming smell of wood smoke. It was comforting, reminding her of her childhood when her father would brush hog and her and her cousins would toss leaves on it, dancing around the fire like hooligans.

Charlotte stirs, as the smell gets stronger and the cold, frigid, numbness begins to leave her body slowly. Struggling to open her eyes, she squirms trying to force herself up in a sitting position. Only two muscular arms pull her back and a deep voice rumbles, "Quit moving, you're still to cold."

Instantly, Charlotte is wide awake and reacts instantly by throwing her elbow back, catching the man in the chin. He releases her with a grunt and Charlie scrambles away landing on the floor shouting, "Who da fuck ya think you is?!"

Arthur raises one eyebrow watching as Charlotte fumbles around in the floor, still in shock but less numb as she glares at him. He stands and reaches down towards her saying sarcastically, "Well you're in my house woman, so I'd say I'm your fucking gracious host."

Charlie growls, her fingertips sparking purple for a second before she regains control again. Arthur catches the small purple zip and becomes even more curious about the woman, when she says angrily, "I knows who you is Alfond Carry! I want da know why I'm in yo house, where Bruce is, and why in God's name were ya holdin' me fo'!"

Arthur shakes his head, a little amused and chuckles as she gets his name wrong but still manages to say it with a bite. He crouches down beside her, holding his hands up and says gently, "Look we got off to a bad start okay? My name is Arthur Curry by the way, and your friend Bruce had me take you back here when you collapsed so they could get help. Your body dropped to dangerous temperatures, because of its sudden exposure to the cold. You could have died."

Charlie frowns, her green eyes calculating everything as she says slowly, "Exposure tah cold?"

Arthur nods and opens his mouth to say more when his door is slung open by Sheila as Bruce follows along behind her with a bag of equipment. They stop once in the doorway, confused by the situation as Charlie is still on the floor glaring up at Arthur while he crouches in front of her with his hands up in front of him.

Charlie notices the small red-head and breaks the silence asking, "Who dis?"

The red-head quickly snaps out of it, ordering Bruce to put the bag on the coffee table before scolding Arthur, "What the hell did you do? Back up!"

Arthur scowls glaring at the woman but backs off from Charlie and stands behind her as she crouches in front of Charlotte. Sheila lifts the corner of her mouth in greeting and says, "I'm Sheila, the locals go to doctor. I need to take your vitals and I need you to please wrap up again and sit closer to the fire."

Charlie glances over to Bruce, seeing him nod and backs up closer to the fire. She pulls Arthur's and Bruce's coats tighter around her and asks, "What happen'd da me?"

Sheila continues to dig through her bag, pulling out thermometer, stethoscope, and blood pressure machine. Bruce answers for her, taking a seat on Arthur's couch and says, "You passed out. The drastic temperature change, taking you from New Orleans and straight into the ice lands was too much for your body. It tried shutting itself down because of it."

Charlie nods her head in understanding and asks Bruce uncertainly, "Would it uh 'ave anythin' tah do wit' my kinetic conversion?"

Bruce's eyes widen slightly in relization, as the thought of her creating energy and heat all the time, might be affected by cold temperatures never crossed his mind. Bruce nods barely to her, frowning as he does so and hoping no one pays attention. Only Arthur noticed it as well and narrows his eyes at the both of them, wondering what that means.

Before he can ask however, Sheila, finishes checking Charlotte and says, "Okay so your vitals are good and your body is steadily rising in temperature. In, maybe two to three hours, you should be okay to be outside again. Since your body was thrown into shock, I suggest slowly introducing yourself back to the cold so when you go out it shouldn't be as bad as before."

She turns to Arthur while packing her stuff up and says, "You owe me Curry. Make sure you continue to give her warm broths and drinks."

She stands up grabbing her medical bag Bruce carried in and other items before turning to leave. She stops just at the door however when Charlie calls out, " _Merci, Madame_ Sheila."

Sheila turns giving a small nod and a smile before leaving the tower, slamming the door shut just to piss Arthur off a bit. He growls a little as items on his shelf rattle after her stunt, before stomping off to his kitchen with a huff.

Charlie, slightly dazed still, wraps the double coats tighter around her and wiggles closer to the fire. Bruce watches her thoughtfully, his elbows resting on his knees as he leans forward.

"Charlotte."

Lazily she turns her head to Bruce, fixing her green eyes on his dark brown ones and says quietly, "Hmm Bruce?"

He sighs running a hand through his hair as he glances down at the watch on his other hand, "I talked to Alfred earlier and he says he can't get the jet down here as it's too close to the coast and there isn't a big enough piece of flat land."

Charlie cuts him off and leans back again the wall stating, "Ya have da go, donna _vous_?"

Bruce sighs frustrated and says, "Yes. I'm sorry. I can push the time out at most an hour, if you think you'll be ready by th-"

"She won't be and it would be stupid of you to put her back out there so soon." Arthur states gruffly as he walks around the couch Bruce is on and crouches in front of Charlie with a steaming mug in his large hand. He gives it to her gently and mumbles, "It's green tea with some honey."

Charlie smiles gratefully and takes tiny sips from it while Bruce throws his hands up irritated and asks, "Does everyone always have to interrupt me?"

Arthur without skipping a beat, stands and adds more wood to the fire saying, "Yes."

Bruce glares at him distastefully before returning to Charlie again and asks, "Will you be okay then if I let you handle _this_ since we never got to it really, while I handle the business with Alfred and come back in a few hours to get you again?"

Arthur frowns turning to face the smaller man and asks, "Handle this? Are you talking about when you were asking about that man?"

Bruce annoyed, stands defiantly and opens his mouth, probably to smart off again when Charlotte interrupts, " _Oui mon ami,_ dat is what he meanin'. We knows who you is, Aquaman, Protector of da Oceans and we needs your help."

Arthur startled slightly, softly grunts twiddling with the end of his beard before nodding and taking a seat in one of the chairs, "Alright, I'm interested. Tell me what you've got."

~~~

Edited.

Thank you to all who have favorited, followed, and/or reviewed on the story!! If I forgot it missed you when responding, I'm sorry about that!

KittyKat25: I'm glad you like this story! I'm sorry it's taken so long to update but I appreciate you so much! Thank you!

BlueBloodsSVUOrder: I hope this is what you were looking for :)

ZabuzasGirl: Oh most definitely! There will be plenty of drama included with a certain red-head queen and a firecracker hustler ;)


	5. ChapterThree

**Luck of Seven: Chapter Three**

 _"No one can whistle a symphony. It takes a whole orchestra to play it."_

 _-H.E. Luccock_

~~~

"No."

Bruce and Charlie glance at one another in disbelief before turning back to the gruff and non-helpful fish man.

"Whad ya mean _non_?" Charlotte asks shocked.

Arthur crosses his arms leaning further back info his chair and says, "I mean no. As in not gonna happen."

Anger pricks at Charlotte and she exclaims loudly throwing her hands up, "He jus' fuckin told ya da crisis we be havin' and yer lil' scaly son of a bitc-"

Bruce clears his throat, effectively cutting Charlotte's rant short and says, "When the fight comes we'll need you Arthur."

Arthur stands flexing his hands and moves closer to the fire saying, "Don't count on it, Batman."

Charlotte huffs, tugging Arthur's coat tighter around her as another shiver hits and mumbles, "Unbelievable."

As if striking a chord, Arthur rounds towards her saying heatedly, "Unbelievable? What's unbelievable is how two grown adults come to my home, my territory, and start digging into my business! I left Atlantis because of their bullshit "do this, do that" and I'll be damned if I'm going somewhere else that demands the same. I want to be left alone!"

Charlotte snarls as she springs to her feet standing up to him, her nose reaching the middle of his chest, forcing her to crane her head back as she spits, "You gon get ya wish, when da whole fuckin world is overrun by dese bugs!"

Arthur glares down at the little woman and leans down slightly, blue eyes clashing with green as he says lowly, "A strong man is strongest alone. Ever heard that little one?"

Charlie's nose flares at being called little one and cocks an eyebrow whispering back just as firmly, "Tha' makes 'bout as much sense as tits on a bull. Eva heard of _l'union fait la force_? In union brings strength, _Monsieur_ Curry."

Arthur purses his lips amused by the fiery woman but still firm in his decision. Charlotte continues to glare up at him, the both locked in a heated glaring contest, forgetting about Bruce next to them.

Bruce clears his throat to break the tension and says, "We don't have anymore time for this. We need to get back Charlie and hopefully find someone else who cares."

Arthur turns his glare on Bruce as Charlotte protests slightly before slowly nodding in agreement, "Alrigh' den. Let's git on back."

Bruce gives Arthur a once over before shaking his head in frustration and leaves the light house. Charlotte sets her tea mug down gingerly and shrugs off Arthur's jacket, holding it back out to him.

Arthur sighs letting his anger go as he takes in her small frame, that still shivers every once and a while. He shakes his head and wraps the coat back around her tighter saying gently, "You need it more than I do. Goodluck little firecracker."

Charlotte opens her mouth to respond, eyes crinkled in confusion before deciding better and pulling the coat tighter around her in thanks. She grabs her staff and slings her backpack over her shoulder. Just before she exits, Charlotte stops and turns taking in the large gruff man behind her.

He crosses his arms and lifts a single eyebrow in question. She raises an eyebrow back and let's a small smirk grace her face as she says, "I'll be holdin' on tah this _mon ami_ , till ya come take it back. Cause I has a feeling yous will and hopefully it before da world go tah shit."

Arthurs ice blue eyes glow in the dim light and his jaw flexes as he watches the short, spunky, and curvy woman bounce out of his house, her head held high.

~~~

"No luck then I presume?" Alfred asks as he holds the jets hatch open for Bruce and Charlotte.

Charlotte ignores both Bruce and Alfred as they talk about the Arthur situation. Shivering once again, Charlotte stalks back to the rooms in the back of the plane and throws her travel pack down. She can hear Bruce and Alfred murmuring in the other room about Arthur, tracking devices, and squares but Charlie pays them no mind as she strips off Arthur's coat as well as her leather trench coat and tosses them on her bed. She digs through her bag for some warmer dry clothes before heading to the shower and taking a long steamy one to help defrost her cold body.

Charlotte takes this time to think about the intriguing yet infuriating blue eyed man they left behind. The people there speak of an honorable man who brings them fish when the harbor is frozen and who genuinely cares for them. And yet he doesn't care about the fate of other people!?

Wiping the suds off her face and closing her eyes under the warm water, she remembers the feeling of his extremely warm and surprisingly comfortable arms surrounded around her. He was caring to her, making sure she was warm and had tea even while he was being aggravating. So why would he not feel the same duty and compassion towards an entire world?

And that damn smirk! How badly she wanted to slap that insufferable smirk off his face! Ever head of a strong man is strongest alone, little one? Who the hell thinks something like that! And to call her little one? That really got her fury going.

"Hey Charlie! You almost done in there?" Bruce's muffled voice comes from behind the door to the small bathroom.

Charlie yells back, " _Oui_! Jus' a tick Bruce!"

She shoves all thoughts of Arthur from her head and quickly finishes washing out her hair before turning the faucets off and drying off with a towel. She's feeling much better already, all the steam and heat helping her body feel back to normal. She quickly gets dressed pulling on her undergarments, black leggings, fuzzy socks, big soft pink shirt, and her combat boots. Her hair curls slightly naturally so she leaves it be and quickly gathers her dirty clothing, leaving the bathroom.

She dumps the stuff on her bed before heading over to the Alfred and Bruce's area with all their papers, pictures, and evidence which she dubbed the "research room". Alfred sits behind the computer desk, scrolling through numerous things and projecting pictures on to the other screens. Bruce is studying the drawing of the two boxes on the drawing board as she approaches them.

"Well we had luck with one person on the team list besides Ms. Charlotte."

"Tis Charlie, Alfred. Non of dat Charlotte shit." Charlie states as she leans against the wall, watching the video screen.

Alfred smiles in apology before returning back to the subject at hand, "Barry Allen of Central City. Squatting I think as he moves suddenly and often. But he does however visit his father in prison... for murdering his mother."

"Jesus!" Bruce exclaims the same time Charlotte whistles, "Damn."

Alfred adjusts his glasses ignoring them as he reads, "Young Barry always protested his fathers innocence but he was nine and nobody would listen to him."

Bruce begins to pace, his fingers lightly drumming in his chin as he asks, "We got somebody at the prison?"

Alfred spins from his computer and nods, "Oh yeah. We'll find the address."

Bruce looks as if in deep thought before he asks almost hesitantly, instantly catching Charlie's attention as he asks, "What about Diana?"

Alfred spins back around in his chair again assessing Bruce with a raised eyebrow, "You have her number sir."

Bruce sighs shaking his head and says unconvincingly, "She's probably busy anyways ya know?"

Charlie grins as she notices Bruce's uncomfortableness and the beginning of an embarassed blush working on to his cheeks. Alfred notices as well as he smirks and says sarcastically, "Perhaps I should fly to Paris with a handwritten note. 'Will you be Bruce's teammate? Check: yes or no."

Bruce's face flushes and he says as firmly as possible, "I'm only interested in her skill set."

Alfred rolls his eyes turning back to the screen and mutters, "I'm sure you are."

At this Charlie can't hold back and busts up laughing patting Alfred on the back as she exclaims, "Oh dat was a good wun!"

Alfred continues to smirk as Charlie slowly comes down from her giggle attack while Bruce glares at the both of them before waving his hand towards the computer and asks, "Can we now? Children?"

Alfred and Charlie compose themselves as Alfred brings up the next profile, "The facial recognition was a bit dodgy on this one, but we got a partial match. A Victor Stone. Genius I.Q., football scholarship to GCU... and deceased."

Bruce shakes his head, pacing the floor back and forth, "Figures. Fairytales and ghost stories."

Alfred removes his glasses and says concerend, "One misses the days when ones biggest concerns were exploding wind up penguins." Alfred pauses a moment before stating quietly, "I don't recognize this world anymore."

Charlie frowns and shakes her head in disagreement, "Yah don' ave to recognize it anymo'. Da world changes and we wit' it."

Bruce meets Charlotte's fierce green eyes and nods in agreement breathing out heavily, "She's right. We don't have to recognize it, we just have to save it."

~~~

Charlie mumbles in annoyance as she takes her deck of cards and splits it with a simple twist, shuffles with the flick of her wrist, and taps it on the table to smooth it out before repeating. Bruce had them fly back in to his mansion and bat cave to prepare and fix up his jet and some other gadgets while Alfred finds a location on either Victor or Barry.

But its taking too long for Charlotte to handle.

She glances up to where Bruce is crawled under one of his big toys and calls out to him loudly, "Yo when we be able tah git goin? Charlie is bored as all hell _mon amie_!"

Bruce grunts, fiddling with the undercarriage of his Batwing jet, wiping some sweat from his forehead as he huffs irritated, "We can go once there's a lock on Stone or Allen. For now just be quie- ouch!"

He yanks his hand back quickly as a wire pops electricity sparks by his hand. Charlie grins in smug satisfaction at Bruce's luck before turning her attention back to her cards, trying to keep the boredem at bay. She doesn't have to wait long as the sound of clicking heels approaching allows her to notice the woman striding into the cave. She's fairly tall, definitley standing above Charlotte with long chocolate hair pulled back in a practical ponytail. Her outfit and stance radiate confidence and control as she leisurely takes her time walking over to Charlie and Bruce.

Charlotte finishes shuffling her cards before taking the last one, rolling it between her fingers before flinging it at Bruce without using her powers. It arcs through the air and hits him in the back of the head, causing him to drop a tool and turn growling at Charlotte, "The fuck, Dubois?"

Charlie laughs at his frustrated expression before nonchalanty waving her hand towards the woman stating, "Yous 'ave a friend 'ere _mon amie_."

The woman glances at Charlotte curiously before turning back to Bruce as he swallows back his anger and tugs a little at his collar, clearly embarassed, and says, "You know, I paid millions of dollars for this buildings security."

She simply smirks, nodding as she looks around casually, before retorting back teasingly, "Yeah. It looked expensive."

Bruce just smiles at her, allowing Charlie to seize the moment as she lets out a low whistle, chuckling as she says, "Oh non, looks tah me dat Bruce as got a _petite beguin_."

Bruce huffs glaring at Charlotte but she ignores it as she hops to her feet and extends her hand to the mystery woman, " _Bonjou' mon cher_! I am Charlotte Dubois but ye can call me Charlie."

The woman gazes at her clearly amused and curious but takes her hand giving it a firm shake as she says, "I once knew a Charlie, he was a great man. My name is Diana Prince."

The name registers to Charlotte, immediatley recalling the picture of a woman in strange metal armor surrounded by a bunch of men from the very first world war. Before Charlie can ask more on that Bruce finishes messing with his jet and calls out to Diana as he descends the ladder, "I think there's an attack coming Diana. Something we all need to be worried about."

Diana grows solemn as she shakes her head and says, "Not coming, Bruce. It's already here."

They hold each other's gazes for a few minutes, having a silent conversation before Bruce turns to Charlie, "I made a suit to help you during combat, that Alfred is currently uploading data onto. He needs you to go try it out so he can make adjustments before we head out."

Charlie nods in agreement but motions towards Diana and asks, "What 'bout da information Diana has?"

Bruce shakes his head in question and states, "Don't worry, I'll debrief you on the flight."

He claps her on the shoulder before leaving the cave with Diana. Alfred rounds the corner just in time and smiles when he sees Charlotte, nodding to her, "Hello Miss Charlie. I have upgraded and installed software into your suit as per request of Master Bruce. If you'll follow me, we can get you suited up and make any adjustments."

Charlie groans internally at the thought of having to change in and out of armor, instead of just wearing her old trusty trench coat but follows Alfred anyways as he leads her past Bruce's vehicles and over to the end of the cave where the weapons racks and all the computer monitors are. Laying on the table amomgst random parts and sketches is a form fitting suit made of thick material with armor pieces already attached. It's a flat black color with almost a translucent clear piping along the edges of the suit where the stitch line might have been. It's not very bulky, as it's skin tight but it does have armor plates already attached along the thighs, arms, and the chest making it a bit thicker. Beside the suit is gauntlets of the same design, tall armored boots, and a lower face mask.

Alfred circles the table and points to the skin tight suit explaining, "This is made of two different synthetic materials which allows your body to pass the infrared radiation or heat, through it while keeping you at your normal temperature and dry. Due to your ability with kinetic conversion, your body naturally creates more heat and when released it converts into kinetic energy. This should help you not get overheated nor too cold as your body doesnt handle that well either. The heat released through this will tap into your actual armor and help give you easier access when using your powers. You're the battery to your suit basically."

Charlie's eyebrows raise as she listens to everything Alfred said while she runs her finger over the rough and cool texture. She glances over the suit and nods to the mask asking, " _Non_ helmet?"

Alfred shakes his head grabbing the lower face mask as he explains, "Bruce figured you wouldn't want to be contained like that so you have a hood attached to your suit that is bulletproof, made with the same synthetic material as the rest, and a lower face mask that will immediately attach. It's bulletproof as well, contains audio for speaking to the team and can act as a gas mask as well."

Charlie grins excited, her green eyes crinkling at the edges, as she takes in her new gadgets and asks eagerly, "So when da I git tah try mah cool suit on and blow up sum shit?"

Alfred shakes his head in bemused exasperation but motions her over towards the changing screen. As he waits, Alfred does more research on Barry Allen, finally getting a hit when he receives a text from one of the prison guards where Barry's father is kept.

He writes the information down and sighs as he makes note of who and what the team consists of. A billionaire with fancy technology, a goddess who's been alive for centuries, a hustler with wicked humor, and now a man who is as fast as lightning.

Hopefully, it'll be enough to save the world.

~~~

 **Gosh it's been forever since I've hashed out a chapter for y'all! I'm a terrible person for holding y'all off for so long and not getting a chapter out. Thank you so much to everyone who followed, favorited, and commented on this story! I hope I haven't let ya down and will continue to write as many more chapters as I can!! Y'all are precious and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!**

 **Also for if anyone is wondering, I will have a website for this fanfic that will make things easier to understand about Charlotte as well as the team. It will have backstory, inspired playlist, her armor, glossary of words she says, and anything else that I think is relevant and kinda cool. :)**


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